Monday, April 26, 2021

Notebook: Under-18 tourney underway

This is Frisco.
The IIHF World Under-18 Championship is underway in Texas.

The tournament got underway on Monday with games in Frisco and Plano. Team Canada's first game will be on Tuesday against Sweden. The tournament concludes on May 6 with the gold and bronze medal games.

There are a couple Sea Dogs connections in the tournament. Canada features defenseman Guillaume Richard, a University of Maine commit who Saint John selected in the fourth-round of the 2020 QMJHL Entry Draft. Richard spent this season with the USHL's Tri-City Storm.

Russia, meanwhile, features forward Fyodor Svechkov, who was Saint John's top pick in last year's CHL Import Draft. Svechkov spent this past season in Russia and it seems unlikely he'll report to Saint John.

Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News recently had Svechkov ranked 12th overall for this year's NHL Draft.

The photo above is of a ballpark I visited in Frisco a few years ago. It was nice! This is likely the only time I'll ever be able to share that photo on here, so there you go!

STANDINGS UPDATE
Sunday's Sea Dogs win over the Acadie-Bathurst Titan means there are still quite a few scenarios possible for the QMJHL's New Brunswick round-robin tournament.

Here's a quick breakdown of the standings:

1. Bathurst: 2-1; 4 PTS
2. Saint John: 2-2; 4 PTS
3. Moncton: 1-2; 2 PTS

Remaining games on the schedule:

Wednesday: Bathurst at Moncton
Friday: Saint John at Bathurst
Saturday: Moncton at Bathurst
Sunday: Saint John at Moncton

The winner of the "tournament" advances to play the Charlottetown Islanders in the Maritimes Division final. It's unclear how that final series will be played at this point.

TIME CHANGE
Sunday's round-robin finale between the Sea Dogs and Wildcats at Avenir Centre has been rescheduled to begin at 7 p.m. The game was originally scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.

The Wildcats play the night before in Bathurst.

Sunday night games are rare in the QMJHL until the post-season begins. Saint John's home game this past Sunday also began at 7 p.m.

NHL/CHL DEAL
The future of the NHL/CHL agreement is something to watch over the next couple seasons. Several junior aged players have seen quite a bit of time in the AHL this season with their CHL teams not playing. And several of those players have been quite good at the pro level.

"The current NHL/AHL/CHL agreement, which mandates that all draftees under 20 get sent back to juniors unless they are in the NHL or have completed four CHL seasons, is up for renegotiation," wrote Sportsnet's Elliot Friedman this week. "The simple thing to do is renew it for another season in the middle of all this madness, and I’m told that is the most likely scenario as long-term solutions are discussed. But I’m wary of making predictions these days."

Any potential changes that would allow more junior aged players into the AHL would obviously cause dramatic shifts in the junior hockey world.

VELENO IN DETROIT
Former Sea Dogs forward Joe Veleno could make his NHL debut before this season is over.

Veleno has returned to North America and recently joined the Detroit Red Wings taxi squad. It's not a sure thing that he plays for the Red Wings at some point over the next few weeks, but there is a chance.
The 21-year-old appeared in 46 games with Sweden's Malmo Redhawks this season where he recorded 11 goals and nine assists. He spent last season with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins.

“It would mean a lot, for sure,” Veleno told reporters this week, via The Athletic. “It would obviously be a dream come true, and that was my main goal is to play in the NHL, and to have my first NHL game potentially be this year, then it’d be a lot of excitement.”

COOPER SCORES FIRST PRO GOAL
Former Sea Dogs forward Oliver Cooper scored his first professional goal on Friday in the Fort Wayne Komets' 5-2 victory over the Wheeling Nailers.
Cooper had four shots in the game. Former Dogs defenseman Matt Murphy was also in the Fort Wayne lineup. 

Cooper now has a goal in seven games with the Komets - his first pro season.

PETERSEN WINS A THING
It's now time for an update on the bet-at-home ICE Hockey League.

Nicholas Petersen: he's still going! Now 31, the former Sea Dogs forward recently helped Austrian-based club EC KAC win the league championship and was named playoff MVP.
Petersen recorded 10 goals and 13 assists in 15 playoff games. This was his third season with the club.

ALABAMA NEWS
The Cape Breton Post recently caught up with former Sea Dogs forward Cole Reginato who is currently playing with the Southern Professional Hockey League's Huntsville Havoc.

Reginato spent the 2018-19 season with the Acadia Axemen but missed the 2019-20 season while rehabbing from knee and shoulder surgeries.

“It’s a lot different than any other league that I’ve played in with the age difference,” Reginato told the Post.

“You’re totally on your own here, you’re a professional player, and you have to be accountable for your own actions and I like that.”

Reginato, who spent parts of three seasons with the Sea Dogs, has a goal in seven games with the Havoc this year. He joined the club in March.

SONS OF COACHES
Jason Gallant, the son of former Sea Dogs head coach Gerard Gallant, has been named the head coach of the New Brunswick/Prince Edward Island Major Under-18 Hockey League's Kensington Wild. Gallant is currently an assistant coach with the MHL's Summerside Western Capitals.

Brad Flynn, meanwhile, has been helping guide the WHL's Red Deer Rebels after Brent Sutter stepped down from the head coaching position earlier this season. Flynn, the son of former Sea Dogs head coach Danny Flynn, is in his third season as an assistant with the Rebels.
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